Week 5 Story: The Bartender's Secret

The Bartender's Secret

by Derek Bixler

It was a warm September night in Laredo, Texas. I'll never forget it.

My life was in shambles. I wanted badly for my ranch just east of town to be a financial success, but four of my cows died just that week. At 57, my window of opportunity to glimpse the American dream was shrinking quickly. A close friend of mine got caught in a tornado less than three moths prior and died. I lost my house that same night and spent the little cash I did have building a new one. Not to mention that the house was for myself alone; though I was well-known around town, I never found love.

In a fuzzy state of mental darkness and dissatisfaction I drove my 1994 Chevy truck into town for a few beers. I slipped into a local bar and took a seat at the counter. Struck up a conversation with the bartender. He was quiet, older gentleman. Smooth skin and soft features. He had a peaceful glow about him. "Call me Sid," he nonchalantly instructed me.

I felt like I could trust Sid. There was something almost otherworldly about his presence. About 5 or so beers in, I started telling him about all my troubles. I recounted my recent problems and how they seemed to be a culmination of an unhappy life. I told him about how I never fulfilled my desires. I had hoped for so much and life had let me down. Sid's words changed my life.

"I once had it all," Sid started. "I was born into a wealthy family. Went to the best schools, inherited a fortune. My wife and children were beautiful. Yet I knew that one day I would grow old. All of the beauty and wealth would fade and I would eventually die."

Sid was compelling. He methodically continued, "I set off on my own. Isolated myself in nature. It was there I made a discovery about life: unhappiness is a product of desire. By letting go of my desires and passions, I have achieved peace."

Sid's word struck me. I left the bar and started to restructure my life. I let go of my hopes for my ranch, my desire for money, and my tortured passion for success. All became clear as I began to live by Sid's life philosophy. It's been almost a year now; I am content.



This story contained story features and elements from the The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).  The bartender "Sid" is based off of Siddhartha, aka the Buddha. "Sid" relays to our unhappy narrator a loose version of the Buddha's life story and one of his realizations presented in the story of Siddhartha and the Hermit: that "Unhappiness is born of desire; that man is to be pitied who is a slave to his passions." The secret of the bartender? He was a reincarnation of the Buddha!

Image info: Picture of a bar in Jackson, Wyoming by Miguel Hermoso Cuesta. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part B

I'm going to focus on beautiful sentences (again!) for part B of this week's reading unit on the life of Buddha.

Readings source: All notes are from stories in part b of the Buddha unit. Story source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).

In the first story of part B, the Buddha is preparing to leave his father's house and set out on his own. As he reaches this moment, he utters these words: "The deep joy I feel, the indomitable strength that now sustains my will, the assurance that I have a protector even though I am alone, all these things tell me that I am about to attain my goal." I found the phrases in this short speech striking. Siddhartha clearly senses some sort of grand destiny is in reach. The confidence of these words reflect a person who has found a calling toward something higher.

In the following story section in the unit, the Buddha has set out on his own and is in a land near the hermits. He states this piece of philosophical wisdom: "Unhappiness is born of desire; that man is to be pitied who is a slave to his passions." I'm not very familiar with Buddhist philosophy, but I found this idea quite compelling. As humans it seems that the more we desire for our circumstances to change or to live out our often inelastic dreams, the more we make ourselves miserable. I've found in my personal experiences that the less I focus on desire the more I find serenity and stability.

A subsequent story involves the Buddha entering the area of another kingdom as a destitute beggar. The king's reaction to seeing him was filled with awe: "The king paused near the tree, and, speechless with wonder, reverently gazed at the beggar." I loved that the king was humble enough to realize that he was in the presence of someone truly great, even though the Buddha was impoverished and he was the king. This sentence reflects the openness of the king and the compelling nature of the Buddha.

I enjoyed this unit a lot!

Painting of the Buddha by artist Otgonbayar Ershuu.
2004. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part A

This week I want to focus on content for my notes! One techinique I will use will be the "Wikipedia" strategy, where I will look for relevant information that provides background information on the content on the stories.

Readings: All notes are from stories of the Buddha unit. Story source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).

This week's readings were on the life of the Buddha, so I went to the Wikipedia page on Gautama Buddha. I learned that the Buddha was "Believed to have lived and taught mostly in the northeastern part of ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE" (Wikipedia). I didn't realize that the Buddha, whose given name was Siddhārtha Gautama, lived that long ago! For whatever reason, I always imagined that he lived around the same time as Jesus Christ rather than a few hundred years prior. It was interesting to me to learn in the Wiki article that scholars of historical Buddhism aren't entirely sure what teachings should be attributed to Gautama and what exactly happened in his life. There is even disagreement among academics on what exactly were the teachings and practices that early followers of Buddhism adhered to and which teachings these followers considered central.

I also found the story about Hindu gods meeting and interacting with the Buddha interesting. More info about the Buddha in Hinduism can be found on this Wikipedia page. I learned from this page that "In Vaishnava Hinduism, the historic Buddha or Gautama Buddha, is considered to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu." I never knew that these two traditions had a notable overlap in one form of Hinduism. The page also notes that many contemporary Hindus revere the Buddha.

In a subsequent story, a sage is chosen to be the teacher of the Buddha. The teacher, however, is quickly impressed by the young Buddha and realizes that he has nothing to teach him. The sage, named Visvamitra, has his own Wikipedia page which I explored. According to some traditions and legends, he was not only a wise teacher but also a king in ancient India. Visvamitra (or Vishvamitra) is an important figure in some classical Hindu texts according to the page.

I really enjoyed reading the stories on the life of the Buddha this week and learning more about Buddhism and Hinduism via Wikipedia!

Image of "The Dream of Queen Maya" from Pakistan, ca. 2nd century. Schist, 

H. 6 1/2 in.; W. 7 5/8 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source: Wikimedia